Role of Foundations and Initiatives by the Private Sector for Improving Health and Nutrition

Private sector foundations and initiatives are visible cornerstones for corporate social responsibility and corporate sustainability policies. By collaborating with diverse actors in the nutrition ecosystem, foundations and initiatives can guide their corporations to improve the health and nutrition of vulnerable populations. This chapter covers both corporate foundations and major corporate initiatives by Fortune 500 companies that play a key role in improving nutrition and health in low- and middle-income countries, and it demonstrates the extent to which these positive outcomes have been shaped by the following processes and developments: the provision of goods and services and financial and in-kind contributions, the advance of advocacy tools, driving innovation and novel approaches, and the proliferation of public–private partnerships. As will be further illustrated in this chapter, these positive outcomes, however, are not positive by default and one must give attention to potential unfavorable consequences that private foundations and initiatives may exert on public health which often go hand in hand with institutional conflicts of interest and conflicting agendas.